"He does stuff you don't normally see" - Rio Ferdinand refutes Wesley Sneijder's claims on reported Chelsea transfer target

Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand has disagreed with former Inter Milan star Wesley Sneijder regarding his recent comments about Ajax midfielder and Chelsea target Edson Alvarez.

Alvarez, 25, has established himself as a core part of Ajax's squad since arriving from Liga MX outfit America for £13 million in the summer of 2019. He has netted 10 goals and laid out five assists in 119 matches for the club, helping them lift three trophies in the process.

Earlier this summer, Alvarez was linked with a £50 million move to Chelsea in the final days of the transfer window. However, the Eredivisie club refused to offload him after selling the likes of Antony, Lisandro Martinez, Sebastien Haller, Nicolas Tagliafico and Ryan Gravenberch.

Ahead of Ajax's recent 3-0 UEFA Champions League home loss against Liverpool, Sneijder slammed Ajax's decision to retain the Mexico international. He told Voetbal International (via Express):

"Edson Alvarez plays every ball backwards or sideways, he's of no use. They [Ajax] should have taken him to London quickly. You could have signed two good players for that [amount of money Chelsea offered in the summer]."

Speaking on BT Sport, Ferdinand shared his thoughts on Sneijder's recent remarks about Alvarez and lauded the defensive midfielder. He said:

"I saw some comments from Wesley Sneijder saying that Ajax should have got rid of him when Chelsea put a bid in for him because he passes the ball backwards. But he does some of the stuff you don't normally see, definitely not Instagrammable."

Ferdinand also explained how Alvarez is crucial to Ajax. He added:

"He does the stuff when he breaks the play up and allows the more creative players to go and perform. These types of players are so invaluable and you appreciate them so much because they give you the platform to go and play the football Ajax love to play."

Alvarez has opened the ongoing 2022-23 season on a positive note, scoring one goal and providing two assists in 16 overall appearances.

Chelsea face tough competition from Premier League sides for Weston McKennie - Reports

According to CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs (via Caught Offside), Arsenal have joined Chelsea and Manchester United in the race to sign Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie. Everton, Leeds United and Newcastle United are also interested in the player.

McKennie, 24, has been a core squad member for Juventus since arriving from Schalke 04 in the summer of 2020. He has scored 13 goals and contributed four assists in 90 games for the Bianconeri.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are in desperate need of a midfielder in light of N'Golo Kante and Jorginho's contract situations. Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher are currently their other permanent options in the department, with Denis Zakaria at the club on loan.